In this paper, we analyse the material well-being of Muslim clerics who served in the Tobolsk Governorate. In 1912, there were 326 of them. Most of Islamic spiritual leaders were rural. They were rewarded in-kind and in cash. The in-kind form — grain, hay, food, etc. — prevailed. The factors affecting the material maintenance of Muslim clerics included the number of believers in the religious community, the level of the believers' income, and the presence of other occupations among the clergy. These factors resulted in different levels of material well being of mullahs in the Tobolsk Governorate in the post-reform period. In times of natural disasters and crop failures, not all members of the religious community could reward imams and muezzins. Under these conditions, it was of great importance that the clergy had other occupations apart from religious activities. The degree of religiosity of the Tatar and Bukhara population also played an important role. The sources of subsistence of Islamic spiritual leaders in the Tobolsk Governorate included the deduction of zakat or public ploughing of land, payment for the performance of ritual rites, donations (Sadaqah, awqaf), tuition fees in denominational schools (maktaba and madrasah), funds from agricultural and other activities. Overall, Muslim clergy in the Tobolsk Governorate had a higher level of material support compared to the majority of believers.

Keywords: mosque, Muslims, mullah, imam, muezzin, azanche, Muslim community, waqf.

 

Funding. The research was carried within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (theme No. FWRZ-2021-0006).

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Accepted: 28.02.2024

Article is published: 15.06.2024

 

Mavlyutova G.Sh., Tyumen Scientific Centre of Siberian Branch RAS, Malygina st., 86, Tyumen, 625026, Russian Federation, E-mail: gmavlyutova@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4459-7104